To obtain targeting coordinates, Russian forces recruited local residents who had publicly called for the full occupation of the region in pro-Russian Telegram channels.

After recruitment, the agents operated individually, spying on various frontline areas and reporting back to their handlers via anonymous chats.

One of the detainees is a 49-year-old resident of Sloviansk who directed Russian airstrikes and artillery fire at concentrations of Ukrainian troops in the area. To conceal his identity, he wore tactical gear and posed as a member of Ukraine's Defense Forces while on assignment.

The second suspect is a 66-year-old resident of Kramatorsk, recruited by Russian intelligence through a personal acquaintance-a militant from Russian-backed armed groups on the eastern front. Through an intermediary, he passed geolocation data on Ukrainian checkpoints and the routes of mobile fire units to the occupiers.

SBU operatives uncovered both individuals and carried out a comprehensive operation to secure Defense Force positions in areas targeted by enemy reconnaissance.

Following documentation of their activities, both agents were taken into custody.

SBU investigators charged them under two articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code: Part 2 of Article 111 (high treason committed under martial law) and Part 3 of Article 114-2 (unauthorized dissemination of information about the movement, relocation, or deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during wartime).

The suspects remain in custody and face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, an FSB agent who spied for Russia near Ukraine's northern border was sentenced to 15 years in prison with property confiscation.

Photo: SBU

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